[sobre]

There is nothing wrong with boundaries. Make your friends aware of them and remind them of them when they are crossed. You can do this gently and then more stringently. Everything from "come on guys, change the subject." to " I need to leave". If they dont' understand or even try to accomodate you, then what kind of friends are they?

Jesus' parable of the cutting off the hand and plucking out your eye was in direct relation to cutting of friendships and family that became a hinderance to our salvation. And yes, continual exposure to vulgar and sinful conversations are a hinderance.

I have a notepad I always carry with me when I am in my office. I take notes and make reference to it around the office. When I hear someone cussing or being "stupid" I will smack them on the arm or pop them on the head with it and say "cut it out". It is not done done out of anger and they know I am not being physical with them. AND at the same time, they have become over time sensitive to me being around and curb their speech to accomodate me. Not always, or else they get smacked, but by and large, our office chatter has been cleaned up tremendously.

Paul